Loading machine



J. D. RUSSELL LOADING MACHINE May 12, 1953 5 Sheeias-Sheet 1 Filed June 11, 1945 INVENTOR. j; I: n D. Russ l/ 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. fin 11/?4/ 5e BY IQTTOP/VEX I I h .l. I i Pl -EQQIQIQii J D RUSSELL LOADING MACHINE May 12, 1953 Filed Jun 11, 1945 y 1953 .1. o. RUSSELL 2,638,200

LOADING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I INVENTOR.

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Patented May 12, 1953 LOADING MACHINE John D. Russell, Cranberry Township, Venango County, Pa., assignor to Joy Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 11, 1945, Serial No. 598,731

Claims. (Cl. 198-10) This invention relates to mechanical loading machines and, more particularly, to improvements in mobile loaders of the type used extensively in underground mining operations.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a mobile loader for use in underground mine chambers, which is highly and readily maneuverableand capable of loading minerals along the ribs of the mine chambers, in the corners and other usually inaccessible places, and of delivering the same. to a vehicle traveling in the mine chambers in either a fixed or variable path for transportation to the surface. This is accomplished by supporting the loader on two sets of independently steerable, rubber-tired wheels and mounting the gathering head on one of the axles of the car for lateral swinging movement therewith so that the head may be readily swung to either side of the car. This construction will permit the loader to be moved in a straight line when the wheelsare in line with the chassis; in'an arcuate path when one set of wheels are turned and the other held in line with the chassis, or both sets are turned in opposite directions; and in asubstantially sidewise direction, that is, a diagonal or an oblique direction, when both sets of wheels are turned in the same direction, thereby makingit possible to maneuver readily the loader into position to reach and load the minerals in the most inaccessible portions of the mine chamber. I

Another object of .this invention is to provide a mobile loader which is of novel construction and design,,is easy to operate, and is of such rugged and sturdy construction, as will enable it to perform readily the task of loading minerals in underground mining.

These and other objects, which will hereinafter be made apparent to those skilled in this particular art. are accomplished by means of this invention, one embodiment of which is described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a loading machine, made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my improved loader;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the gatheringhead. and forward end of the chassis, taken on the longitudinal axis of the loader;

.Fig. 4 is enlarged plan View of the gathering head, having portions thereof broken away for convenience of illustration;

Fi 5 is an en arged sectional View, taken on line VV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view, taken on line VI-VI Fig. 7 is a sectional view, taken on the broken line VII-VII of Fig. 4 and having certain parts removed to illustrate better my invention;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the drive for the conveyor and hydraulic system of the loader;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line IX-IX of Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, l0 represents, in its entirety, a loading machine, made in accordance with the present invention, having a chassis H of fabricated construction, which is supported by a set of steerable wheels l2 and a set of drive wheels I3. 1

The wheels 12 are mounted on a wheel supporting device 14, preferably of the construction and type set forth in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,301,144, issued to me on November 3, 1942, carried by the chassis ll. Each of the wheel'mounting devices 14 is mounted on the chassis l l for turning move ment and each is connected by a tie rod IS with a piston rod l6 operating in a cylinder l1, mounted transversely of the chassis. As the piston rods l6 move in unison to either side, it is apparent that the wheels I2 will be turned to steer the loader.

The drive wheels I 3 are journaled on the wheel receiving portions of a drop axle l8, which extends underneath and supports the forward end of the chassis H. The axle I8 has an enlarged central portion 19, carrying a bearing 20, which engages a pin 2|, mounted in the chassis I I to provide an antifriction joint between the axle and the chassis and permit the axle to turn readily in a horizontal plane-relative to the chassis. i i

To strengthen and reinforce the axle 18, a member 22, which extends through the chassis l l is bolted to each side thereof and has an enlarged centrally bored portion 23 for receiving a pin 24, journaled in a bearing 25, carried by the upper part of thechassis I I.

The member 22 and the axle I8 form a double or split axle for the car and, since two relatively short, vertically spaced pins are used to pivot the axle on the car, a sturdier construction is obtained than would be possible with the use of a single pin and the turning movement of the axle in a vertical plane is efiectively resisted; while turn ng in a horizontal plane is freely permitted, thereby providing additional steering capacity for the loader by the turning of the drive wheels I 3;

Turning of the axle member I8-22 is accomplished by hydraulic jacks 26, mounted on the sides of the chassis ll, each of which has its piston rod 21 connected tothe axle 18. The jacks 26 are preferably of the single action type and are so interconnected that, as pressure is applied to one jack, the other will be connected to the.

exhaust. Thus, by adjusting the size of the ex haust port in the jacks, the speed of turning the axle Ill-22, by the admitting and exhaustin of fluid to and from the jacks, can be readily controlled.

Journaled on the axle 18, for swinging movement in a vertical plane, are the side members of a gathering head 3| of fabricated construction, which is adapted to be swung laterally as the axle is turned.

In order to support the head 3| during its entire range of lateral movement, the chassis ll has an arcuate track 32 at its forward or front end, upon the top and bottom of which are ride rollers 33-3L carried by a frame 35, extending transversely of the chassis. A hydraulically operated single acting jack 36 is mounted on each end of the frame and the piston rods 3'! of the jacks are pivotally connected to the .l.

had'ill. Thus, as the axle ill-22 is turned, the head 3'! is not only supported during its lateral swinging movement by the construction above described, but by controlling the admission of fluidpressure to the jacks 36, the elevation of mineral being mined from the floor of the mine chamber and place the same on an endless chain and flight conveyor M, carried by the head for delivery to an endless chain and flight conveyor 42, carried by the chassis H, which conveys the mineral to a haulage unit for transportation from" the mine chamber.

The drive wheels 13, the gathering arms it and the conveyor M are all driven by motors at, carried by the head 3! and in substantially the same manner as set forth and" described in U. S. Letter's Patent No. 2,360,282, John D. Russell, issued October '10, 1944, and, since the specific details of the drive forms no part of the present invention, it will suffice to point out that the wheels 13' may be driven in either direction from shafts 46, having oppositely rotating clutch members 47-48 mounted thereon, which are driven by the motors 44 and selectively connected to the shafts by a sliding clutch engaging member 39. Power is delivered to the wheels through chains 50 and sprockets 5l-52 attached to the shafts 4G and the wheels l3 respectively.

Each motor 44 also drives clutch members 53, which may be selectively connected by sliding clutch members 54 to shafts 55, geared to a footshaft 56, journaled in the head 3i. The. shaft 55 carries sprockets 51 for driving the conveyor (I and pinio'ns 58 for driving the crank arms 59, which support the gathering arms 40.

The conveyor 42 travels over a conveyor pan 60', carried by the chassis ll, around idler spi oifzkets 61-62, at each end thereof. The inactive reach of the conveyor travels underneath the pan 6!) where it passes between the axle l8 and member 22 and is driven by a drive sprocket 63:,secured to a shaft 64, journaled in the chassis H. I Shaft 64 is driven through a worm gear 65 and worm 66 from a shaft 61, having a clutch element 68, thereon, for connecting the shaft to a shaft 69' through the clutch element 70, which is adapted to be moved into engagement with the clutch element 63. Shaft 59 is driven by motor H through gear 12 and motor pinion 73. The motor 1| also drivesa pump it, which draws fluid from the tank liand pumps it to the vars ions hydraulic jacks, previously described. The admission of fluid pressure to the jacks is controlled by suitable control valves 16, mounted on the side of the loader adjacent an operators platform l'l.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that I have produced a loader for underground use which is capable of being readily maneuvered into position to load all the minerals in the producing area of the mine, since the drive wheels '13 may be turned, independently of the steering wheels l2, by admitting fluid pressure to one or the other of the jacks 26, to swing the gathering head 3| laterally to one side or the other of the loader. I

Further, since both sets of wheels 12 and I3 are capable of independent turning movement, the loader can be driven either forward or rearward in a straight path, when both sets of wheels are set to travel in a path parallel to the major axis of the machine. It will turn corners when either set of wheels in turned and the other's et held parallel to the longitudinal axis, and, when both sets of wheels are turned in opposite directions, the radius of the turning movement of the loader will be materially reduced. When the two sets of wheels are turned in the same direction, however, the loader will travel in an oblique or diagonal path and move bodily in a generally sidewise direction. Thus, any desired path of travel can'be selected by the operator of my improved loader, giving it such a high degree of flexibility as will readily permit the loader to be maneuvered to any desired location in the mine without danger of getting it in a position where it is unable to extricate itself as frequently happens, for example, when a standard four-wheel steerable mine vehicle gets too close to a rib or the like and has to be pulled away beforeit can continue to be operated.

While I have explained and described one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood, that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Ina loading machine, the combination of a chassis, an axle pivoted to said chassis for supporting the forward end thereof, drive wheels journ aled on said axle, a gathering device, carried by said axle and adapted to swing laterally on the turning of said axle, steerable wheels supporting the rear of said chassis, means for turning said axle, and means for turning said steerable wheels.

2. The combination of the character set forth in claim 1, in which an endless conveyor passes over the chassis and the axle is split to per-. mit one reach of the conveyor to pass between the upper and lower sections thereof.

3. A loading machine of the character set forth in claim 1, in which the chassis has an arcuate track at the forward end thereof, and the gathering device is supported on aframe, having rollers traveling on said track.

4. A loading machine of the character set forth in claim 1, in which the gathering device is pivoted on the axle for movement in a vertical plane and the chassis has atrack at the forward end for supporting the end of an extensible member, employed in swinging the gath-. ering device in such plane.

' 5. A loading machine of the character set forth in claim 1, in which means are provided for driving the drive wheels in one direction at a relatively high speed, and in the opposite direction at a relatively slow speed.

JOHN D. RUSSELL. 5

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Number Name Date Perkins Nov. 16, 1937 Wilson Apr. 2, 1940 Koistinen May 12, 1942 Butters May 12, 1942 Arentzen Oct. 13, 1942 Beck Dec. 7, 1943 Russell Aug. 22, 1944 Russell Oct. 10, 1944 Doberstein Sept. 4, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1902 

